A. Establishing
aerial shots (including one in the opening credits) show it as the Balboa
Pier, on the Balboa peninsula in Newport Beach. But it isn't.

Q.
When did we see it on the show?

A. From the
very start, and in almost all the episodes that have followed.

With the possible
exception of the Harbor School, the Pier
is the single most-used location in "The O.C." There have
been countless scenes shot on various parts of the pier.

It is where
the Pier Diner is located. It is where you'll
find the Bait Shop. It is where Sandy's
beach office is. It is where the Family
Planning Clinic was located (where Theresa took her pregnancy test).
It is where the food court is (where Sandy met Lindsay's Mom to warn her
that she was about to be arrested). It's where the kids stroll, bicycle,
skateboard, eat, and just hang out.

Q.
What is it actually in real life?

A. A pier -
but not in Balboa.

Q.
Where can I find it in real life?

A. More than
one pier has been used in creating the illusion of the pier, but one stands
out by itself.

Almost all of
the scenes set on the Pier in "The O.C." are filmed
at the Redondo Beach Pier, at the west end of Torrance Blvd in Redondo
Beach, CA.

The Redondo
Pier is a large one, made up of four different pier structures forming
a sort of horseshoe-shaped loop out over the bay, topped with numerous
restaurants and shops. It dwarfs the real Balboa Pier
(with its lone, straight pier and its one restaurant - Ruby's Diner).

Here is a photo
map link to show the exact location of the Redondo Pier, and
to let you see what it looks like from above.

They have filmed
all over the Redondo Pier, from the Bait
Shop nightclub in it's northeast corner to the familiar Pier
Diner at its southwest corner, and everywhere in between. Most of the
many, many scenes of people just hanging out, talking, taking in the sail
boats & the scenery, are shot on the long north/south section of the
pier that makes up the west side of the pier. This middle section contains
no shops or restaurants, just a walkway (with those engraved whales in
the sidewalk) and the occasional telescope for sightseeing. Sandy met with
Caleb here. Sandy met with Lindsay's mother on the old south side of the
pier, near the food court. A drunk Lindsay seemingly disappeared in the
water under this Redondo Pier.

Plus, several
scenes have been shot in the adjoining village
of blue office buildings that is clustered on the top level of the pier's
parking structure, just above the entrance to the pier itself. (It's called
'Pier Plaza' business park, and is considered part of the pier by the city).
Sandy's beach office is one of those blue buildings (#111). So was the
Family Planning Clinic where Theresa went to find out if she was pregnant
(#121).

Here is a map
of the pier showing where various O.C. scenes have been shot.

There have been
some exceptions to the Redondo rule, though.

For one episode
(Episode 13 of season two), the producers shifted filming to Long Beach.
They shot two scenes there. One is where Rebecca & Sandy dump Max's
ashes off the pier, and the other is where Sandy meets with a friendly
prosecutor to discuss Rebecca's case. Both of those two scenes were shot
at the Belmont Pier in Long Beach
(at the end of 39th place, south of Ocean Blvd). (Map)

And when the
pier is seen from a long distance, you are often seeing the Hermosa
Pier, at the west end of Pier Avenue in Hermosa
Beach. (Map)
I assume that this is because they want it to look like the Balboa Pier
from a distance, and the Balboa Pier is a single pier. The Hermosa Pier
is also a single, straight pier, while (as we mentioned above) the Redondo
Pier is made up of interlinking structures. The Hermosa Pier is seen in
the background of The Crab Shack
in the early episodes, and the same pier is also seen in the background
of some early beach scenes where the girls are sunning themselves on the
sand. (In addition, many non-pier scenes were shot in adjacent the city
of Hermosa Beach, especially
on The Strand and the Pier Plaza
area at the foot of the Hermosa Pier.)

Q.
How the heck did you figure out where it was?

A. I have been
to the Redondo Beach pier many times. I recognized it instantly when I
saw it on TV.

To easily recognize
the Redondo Pier on TV, just look for one of three obvious things: 1. Those
sail-shaped art forms which decorate the Redondo Pier;
2. The round Redondo emblems that are mounted on the
log railings of the Redondo pier; 3. The silhouettes
of whales, seals and other sea creatures embossed in the concrete on the
pier's main new walkway (but not on the older, wooden section of the pier
on the south side). Also, if they are looking south (as they often are),
the Palos Verdes cliffs are clearly
visible on the horizon (since the hill is just a mile or two south of the
Redondo Pier).